All right...F'IT! Come in here and VOTE for one!

[The Rampage]

I trudged back to my local retailer to return my EPOS (POS) Diver today (it was defective, BTW), and I haven't been that disappointed in quite a while. Granted, I did tell a bit of a BS story and got cash back (they normally don't refund cash once the watch has been worn/resized), but still...

I didn't WANT the money! I WANTED A NEW ONE!!

So anyway, the girl tells they probably won't have another in stock for a long time, the repairs will take a month, so I should just take my cash back and go on with life.

I did.

I'm still pissed off.

SO...


I have a hundred bucks in store credit and another four hundred to RE-spend on my Birthday Present Part II. And what better way to get over a flunky watch than by BUYING ANOTHER ONE!

And this time, I'm sticking to jap watches. No more iffy "affordable" Swiss crap. If I'm going Swiss it's Oris or up, and since that ain't feasible in Japan I'll be sticking to my Seikos, Citizens and Orients for the time being.

OK, help me choose one. Or at least...which would YOU choose, and WHY WHY WHY?

Here's the line-up:



1) Orient Sapphire GMT, $400

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/CEY04001B0_1.jpg

The Holy Grail that I've still never gotten around to buying. It's right at the top of the list, especially since the all-black model is increasingly hard to find and I fear they may discontinue it soon. About $400, and for that you get Sapphire front and back see-thru, non-hack/non-wind, screw-in crown, GMT feature, power reserve feature, but I believe it's assembled in China (and it says so on the back)...but all in all an interesting watch. I don't own anything like it yet.




2) Orient Star GMT, $500

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/001-1.jpg

Interesting watch, comes with all the goodies except for wind/hack features, although the price tag is a bit steep. Sapphire, yada yada, and it's Orient Star so it must be pretty decent.




3) Orient Kingmaster Diver, $250

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/OrientSilverSub.jpg

Actually, I'm probably getting this tomorrow as a birthday present from the girlfriend, but just in case anyone wants to tell me again how excellent this blatant Rolex knockoff is...




4) Seiko Alpinist SARB013, $410

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/s_sarb013a.jpg


Interesting watch, and comes with the excellent 6-series Seiko hacking/winding movement. Sapphire, no see-thru, AR coating, screw-in crown. There's a black model but the hands are ugly and it's quite boring...plus I don't yet have a cream-colored watch, although my inner-homo is screaming that this won't match with many of my sweaters.




5) Seiko SARB021, $410

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/001aa.jpg

If I didn't already have the "Spirit" SCVS003, which I think is superior to this watch in the looks department, I'd probably be buying this one. All the goodies...6-series movement, Sapphire front and back, AR coating, pretty awesome in person, but the hands just aren't pointed enough for me. Like I said, my Spirit is nicer...and it was a hundred bucks less, too, with basically the same features.



OK, which one would you choose? Like I said, I'm probably getting the Orient diver on Saturday as a gift, and if nothing comes up then I'll probably get the Sapphire GMT on order as a replacement for my EPOS.

Any ideas on this? I got two days to decide on this one.



TR

[The Rampage]

And here are some other options I'm tossing around, or some pictures you might like to see if anyone's contemplating a watch purchase.


6) Seiko SCVS003, $250

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/scvs003.jpg

The watch I told you I already have, and compared to the SARB021 I think it's much nicer. This is my "suit" watch, alternated with my Orient Star Classic. By that, I mean this one:


7) Orient Star Classic, $300

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/DSC01701.jpg

Nice watch. Nothing to bust a nut to, but excellent workmanship. Far superior to what I see on Citizens and a lot of Seikos, and certainly better than my EPOS. Probably on part with something Swiss and over $800.



8) Seiko Sumo, Black, $420

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii216/therampagegt/seiko_sbdc001.jpg


I already have the blue one, which some skankass **** scratched when she banged into me at the mall. Seiko Hardlex is most certainly not HARD, which is the one thing that might keep me from getting this as a companion to my awesome, awesome, albeit scratched, Seiko Sumo Diver. One of my favorites.




Other than that, I can't think of too many Japan-market watches that are on my to-buy list. If I spot any at the store I'll post some pictures here, or at least a shot of my new watch when I get it.





TR

[Jayzod]

Thems some beautiful watches. :wow:

I would stay away from the $400-$500 or more watches uless you have some sort of desk job or like to go out and draw attention to yourself. I would be pissed the first scratch I got, but thats me. I like the Seiko SCVS003 simple good looking and very little to go wrong.

If you are the outdoorsy type (I would guess you are being on Glock talk) I would say the Seiko Alpinist SARB013, maybe would come in handy for land navigation. But the Orient Kingmaster Diver looks cool to.

One final note when I was in the Army I did some work with SF and was shocked to see some of the guys wearing Rolex watches. When I asked WTF? One of em' told me they make great barter in some of the countries they "visit". One could get all kinds of things from a car to information that could save their lifes with a Rolex. By the way in the 82nd Airborne we called the SF guys Leaf heads, no offence :tongueout:

[The Rampage]

Thems some beautiful watches. :wow:

I would stay away from the $400-$500 or more watches uless you have some sort of desk job or like to go out and draw attention to yourself. I would be pissed the first scratch I got, but thats me. I like the Seiko SCVS003 simple good looking and very little to go wrong.

If you are the outdoorsy type (I would guess you are being on Glock talk) I would say the Seiko Alpinist SARB013, maybe would come in handy for land navigation. But the Orient Kingmaster Diver looks cool to.

One final note when I was in the Army I did some work with SF and was shocked to see some of the guys wearing Rolex watches. When I asked WTF? One of em' told me they make great barter in some of the countries they "visit". One could get all kinds of things from a car to information that could save their lifes with a Rolex. By the way in the 82nd Airborne we called the SF guys Leaf heads, no offence :tongueout:



Nah, for the most part I sit at a desk all day or prance around in front of a classroom full of 17yo Japanese girls. My weekends get a bit rough, but not because I'm doing outdoorsy stuff (which I don't, ever); rather, I'm usually out on drunken binges and tend to get a little busted up every now and then.

For my weekends, I have my $105 Seiko SKX007, SKX009 and Orient Mako.

It's sad, though...the older I get, the gayer I get. I honestly get a bigger thrill out of buying these damn watches than buying dinner and drinks for college-aged chicks and then going home with them. I find myself routinely ditching the GF in favor of going out with the boys and getting trashed downtown on weekends, so even ten years after high school, the only difference now is that I'm actually getting laid LESS often.

Strange how life works out.



TR

[USMCsilver]

IMHO, you should steer clear of Chinese POS knock-off watches, altogether. You've already seen where that get's ya.

Tell them to take their $100 store credit, and shove it up their ass. Honestly, I can't even imagine what other lines they carry when they stock "EPOS" and Orient...

Next, take the $400, add a hair of cash to it, and get yourself a nice Tag or Tissot.

Be done with it all.

It ain't about quantity, it's about quality. Mark my words...

[Liquid]

Orient Sapphire GMT for sure. It looks a lot better compared to the EPOS. I really like the busy face. I have a SeaMaster GMT black dial and I am tempted to look into that watch. My second option would be the Orient Star GMT.

[The Rampage]

IMHO, you should steer clear of Chinese POS knock-off watches, altogether. You\'ve already seen where that get\'s ya.

Tell them to take their $100 store credit, and shove it up their ass. Honestly, I can\'t even imagine what other lines they carry when they stock \"EPOS\" and Orient...

Next, take the $400, add a hair of cash to it, and get yourself a nice Tag or Tissot.

Be done with it all.

It ain\'t about quantity, it\'s about quality. Mark my words...


Awww...come on, dude! Don\'t hate on the Orient! And that store I go to stocks, literally, hundreds of brands. It\'s a big jap megastore, so don\'t take them too seriously. Good prices, though!

BTW, the EPOS wasn\'t Chinese--it was Swiss-made, sapphire, ETA 2982 and the MSRP was higher than most everything Tissot offers. Just goes to show, not everything Swiss is good. I learned my lesson on that one.

And honestly, I gotta say that of all my watches, my Orients have been the cheapest yet probably the best values I\'ve ever seen. The Mako is one thing, but you take my Orient Star...I paid $300 for it and in every aesthetic way it beats out the Tissot Le Locle that goes for double that price. Some might even argue that the mid-level Orient movement in the sub-$300 watches handily beats out an ETA-2824.

I really, really like Orients. For what you pay, you get triple what you would with anything Swiss. Dare I say that my $500 Orient feels far, far more solid than a $1100 Tag.

To be perfectly honest, though, I don\'t care for Tags. The designs don\'t do it for me, and IMHO the only ones relatively attractive are the LINKs, and again IMHO they aren\'t worth what TAG wants for them. I\'d shell that out for an Omega, but not a TAG.

I\'ve got my eye on the Oris Date Diver, in either blue or Black/Red. They want about $900 for them in Japan, and I\'m quite sure I can score them cheaper back stateside, so I\'ll put that on hold until I\'m back next year. I\'ll PROBABLY get the black one, and then save up for my blue SMP.

Anyway, I\'ll post some pics, regardless of what I get. Lesson learned...no more cheap Swiss watches, stick to the japs when IN Japan. Not a hiccup yet with my bucktooth beauties, and I\'ve got 12 of \'em so far.



TR

[The Rampage]

Sorry about the f'ed up font up above. I was posting from work, and had to run a proxy server so as to avoid prying eyes on my posts. If there's one thing japs love more than being packed into trains like sardines, or having lively conversations with themselves, that's being astoudingly f'ing NOSEY...and to these morons, minding YOUR business comes as naturally as beheading women and children or engaging in disgusting excrement-based fetishes.

TGIF, japs!




TR

[USMCsilver]

Well, good luck. I didn't know you were in the land of the slants.

I guess it also comes down a little to reputation. If you havn't really heard of it, unfortunately, it probably isn't that great. NOT ALWAYS TRUE, I know, but worth noting.

I'll buy electronics from the Japonese, and vehicles...some stuff is just better done elsewhere.

[VirginiaLEO83]

USMCSilver isn't happy unless your buying a Rolex. :tongueout:

[USMCsilver]

USMCSilver isn't happy unless your buying a Rolex. :tongueout:

Not true at all. There are many, many spectacular brands out there. I'd love to own a Panerai, but I just can't spring for one right now. I can't justify it. I've also longed after an Omega, but, again... :crying: